Cortana is smart, but it won’t recognize you speaking funky names that we all have these days. Not all of us are Sam, Pete, Julie or Julia. Since Cortana is still only available in the English (US) it has that limitation in general but the US is filled with other cultures and other names. Well, I have the same problem with my children giving them Dutch names. But here is how easy you add the nick names to your contact to have them recognized by Cortana. These nick names can be added by Cortana herself, but my experience so far that this is a battle. Doing a manual input will Read more

Later on today the developer preview of Windows Phone 8.1 will be released and it comes with quite a bit of new features and some changes to the Microsoft latest Windows Phone operating system. I have summed up before a list of the leaked features but today I can share with you what I have found to be different and new in Windows Phone 8.1. And I am not just talking showing you Cortana or the Word flow keyboard :). I have small little nuances that makes great improvements that enhances the user experience. At the bottom of this article I also have a small video showing a feature many of Read more

Windows Phone 8.1 and the Windows 8.1 update were officially announced yesterday during the Build keynote. The Windows Phone 8.1 update is a major update with Cortana, Flow keyboard Action center and much more. A few weeks ago there was already a hint that the official page for Windows Phone 8.1 features tab was seen on the official Windows Phone page. Well…It’s there now and it highlights “Six reasons to choose Windows Phone” The official Windows Phone 8.1 feature page is now live and the following 6 reasons to choose Windows Phone listed are: Cortana – The most personal assistant (video on site) Personalization – The world’s most personal smartphone Read more

It has happened twice to me already. Somehow my OneDrive (Still named SkyDrive in folders on your PC) had stopped syncing my newly added files to the cloud and onto my other devices. Somehow files from the cloud came on my computer but not the new files on my local OneDrive folder did sync back. Why, well I don’t know! Since SkyDrive / OneDrive is now embedded in your Windows 8.1 there is no easy way to stop and reactivate the sync process.I have found out with a few easy steps you can stop and re-activate the sync progress of your OneDrive without losing any of your already organized data Read more

The SDK for Windows Phone 8.1 was released to some key developers under NDA. However it seems that those NDA’s have been broken very quickly by many since that a few key Windows Phone websites like WPCentral, WMPoweruser and others are showing off screenshots of new features built-in the new Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. I have looked at these sites and compiled for you a list and possible screenshots of these new features. I have to warn you all that nothing is confirmed but that the probability is great. NOTE: Just like with the previous versions of Windows Phone the OEM’s and Carriers probably have some say in implementing some Read more

Updates for the Microsoft Surface Pro and Pro 2 are great and mostly good for your device. However sometimes it doesn’t always goes to well. It happened to me today with my Surface Pro 2. I knew a firmware update was available and I forced an update check using the control panel on my Surface Pro 2. The download was amazingly fast and the Surface Pro 2 started automatically a restart to finish the update. When the Surface Pro rebooted the opening screen was the splash start screen with the Surface Logo but with a line underneath telling me not to turn off the Surface Pro since it need to Read more

Today AT&T released the official Windows Phone GDR 3 update with the Nokia Lumia Black update for the Nokia Lumia 1020 and 1520. Besides the added functionality in Glance and Raw (DNG) image support now we have the full functionality of projecting your Windows Phone screen locally or remotely anywhere in the world. PhotoBeamer was a great application for projecting your photo’s on your Windows Phone locally on any browser using the QR code on the website. This would pair the browser with your photo’s and you could mange the images you want to show. BUT now we have Nokia Beamer and this goes much further. Nokia Beamer allows you Read more

I have written a great article called “Custom Ringtones on Windows Phone 8 That was easy” which explains how you can easy transfer over your custom sounds and use them on your Windows Phone 8. However now there is an easy way to even record your own ringtones on Windows Phone 8 and save it directly to your Windows Phone. The Windows Phone Insider app which is free allows you to get some great sound files but also allows you to record your own sound file and save it directly to your ringtone list on your Windows Phone 8. You can get really creative with this app. I even made Read more

I have been looking for the most perfect bag to carry my Microsoft Surface Pro 2 and extra gear along. Not too big and not too small, but with the right amount space and compartments. Well…the STM Velo 2 Small does seem to fit the bill. I have reviewed the Crumpler Moderate Embarrassment laptop bag a few days ago and this STM Velo 2 bag will give you a different experience. I will be looking at 11 inch bags soon to compare the usable space for the Surface pro 2 and its accessories. However, I am very impressed with the STM Velo 2 small laptop shoulder bag and this is Read more

Yesterday I was talking to a friend of mine who said he lost his Red X in Outlook 2013. This Red X shows up if you hover over the right side of an email in the message preview list. I still had mine on my desktop. But today I looked on my Surface Pro 2 and indeed I lost mine there as well. Well after some research the fix is very easy. How to get the Red X back in Outlook 2013. Basically the problem occurs since that you have Outlook 2013 installed on a touch screen enabled Windows Computer. You probably just got a new touch enabled computer and Read more